The creator economy is no longer just a trend – it’s a reality! It is an industry currently worth US$104 billion, according to a NeoReach study, and it puts content creators at the center. Previously, creators added value by selling occasional advertising space to brands. Now, they “lend” their credibility to the companies that hire them. In other words, an influencer’s reputation and storytelling are non-negotiable assets, and co-creation is the rule!
In this new landscape, where creativity is an economic driving force capable of generating billions of dollars, influencer marketing has reached an unprecedented level of importance. You need to know how to play this game. To do so, you must understand certain changes, let go of old strategies, and, of course, roll up your sleeves and get to work. We’ve prepared 3 highlights to keep an eye on in 2023.
The return of communities and rebellion against platforms
The explosion of TikTok, particularly from 2020 onward, changed everything. With the algorithm prioritizing viral content, we began consuming content more individually, according to our interests. What mattered was the reach of the video itself, not the influence of the person posting it. This overturned the previous logic of platforms, whose goal had been to create connections. Influencers felt this shift and realized that, to remain relevant, they needed to “play the algorithm’s game.” As a result, they felt compelled to produce content constantly, and the debate around mental health became increasingly prominent. According to ConvertKit, 63% of full-time creators experienced burnout in 2021.
Against this backdrop, a movement emerged among influencers: “canceling” the algorithm. The trend now is to take control away from platforms and focus on creating content for communities. What matters is what your audience (both current and potential) consumes, not what the algorithm demands. Slow content is gaining momentum in this scenario, with better-produced content created with greater intentionality. And creators will expect brands to understand this!
In practice, we can expect paid communities to become mainstream and an explosion of content designed to be discovered (with social search on the rise). In other words, influencers are setting the rules and establishing themselves as channels in their own right.
UGC Creator
A term that is gaining traction abroad and should soon grow in Brazil is UGC (User Generated Content) Creator. In Portuguese, the term refers to content created by users, either spontaneously or in a way that appears spontaneous. It can work in two ways:
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The everyday consumer as a creator: here, the “user” is not necessarily a creator, but rather an ordinary social media user. In this case, a consumer posts about a product or service spontaneously, simply because they like it. At first, this may seem like a complicated term for something that has existed for a long time, but what’s new is the level of intentionality behind it: especially in the United States, brands are investing in communication strategies (particularly relationship-building strategies) that turn ordinary consumers into influencers who carry the company’s messages. On TikTok, the hashtag #ugccreator already has more than 100 million views. On Instagram, it has already been used in tens of millions of posts.
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The influencer as a social media content creator: This second possibility is already more common in Brazil, and the trend is for it to be explored even further in 2023. Here, an influencer is hired to create content for a brand in a way that appears spontaneous. But in this case, the post goes on the company’s profile, not the creator’s. This has been growing because brands have realized that a crucial asset for building connections is the production of humanized content, created by people who understand the audience and the platforms. A combination of skills that good influencers have in abundance!
Influence as a skill (for everyone!)
Attention, HR! The transformation of the market points to a reality in which influence is becoming a desirable soft skill for a new generation of employees (especially leaders!). Every time a company employee posts something about the organization (or its products and services), they are influencing the external perception of the company they work for. And that is incredibly valuable: the credibility of people on the inside is extremely high and represents an important driver of reputation.
And the importance of employees’ voices is reflected in the data: according to YouPix, content posted by a company’s employees has the potential to reach 561% more people than content published on the brand’s official profiles. In addition, companies with leaders who are active on social media are perceived 23% more positively.
Of course, encouraging employees to post comes with risks, but nothing that good training can’t address. What matters is rolling up our sleeves and getting to work in this area, because it is an important field of communication that promises excellent results.
And where do brands fit into all this?
To continue reaping the benefits of influencer marketing, brands need to understand the new rules of the game. Influencers know they have considerable bargaining power and that brands depend heavily on creators. All of this will increase the importance of relationship-building strategies with content creators, while also highlighting the value of long-term partnerships and co-creation. It’s time to let go of rigid briefs, the standard package of 4 Stories and 2 Reels for a one-off campaign, unrealistic deadlines in influencer partnerships, and press kit posts as the main measure of success, and make room for something new. After all, who wouldn’t want a share of this multibillion-dollar market that just keeps growing?
Pâmela Carvalho
